Sweet Flag (acorus calamus), an aquatic plant. A relative of jack-in-the-pulpit, but growing in shallow water. The yellowish green flowers are crowded on a tall scape with no covering, no pulpit. The leaves are sword-like, resembling those of the common blue flag. The thick creeping root-stocks have a sweet odor and a pungent taste. Boys like to carry bits in their pockets to nibble at. Candy makers use sweet flag as a flavor. It is used also as a perfume. The name comes from the flavor of the root and the shape of the leaves. Sweet flag grows in Great Britain, and in America from east Kansas and Minnesota to Florida and Nova Scotia. See PERFUME; OIL.